Poet launches pioneering workshops
A POET who found herself homeless as a teenager helped launch pioneering workshops for school children, in a bid to stem a shocking rise in homelessness in Gwynedd.
Charity GISDA launched the workshops – before coronavirus restrictions came into force – in partnership with youth workers and teachers, with the first school to take part being Ysgol Dyffryn Ogwen in Bethesda.
Gisda Team Leader for Projects, Lee, who was homeless herself as a teenager, said the project team also wants to quash preconceptions and prejudices, including the idea that every homeless person begs on the streets.
In the first session of its kind in the county, Year 11 pupils were given an insight into what life is like for homeless people, and some of the skills needed to survive such as budgeting, and where to go for help if they ever found themselves without a home.
They also heard about celebrities who have experienced homelessness such as Apple founder Steve Jobs, singer Ed Sheeran and actress Jennifer Lopez.
The classes are central to a £40,000 project funded by Gwynedd Council’s Youth Service, which is run by North Wales homelessness support charity GISDA. It specifically aims to prevent people slipping into homelessness by reaching out to them when they first encounter difficulties.
It follows a massive 575% rise in homeless cases over the last 20 years.
Many involve young people aged between 16 and 25. Urgent action is needed to reverse the worrying trend which affects the future prospects of whole generations, say GISDA course leaders Bethan Angharad Williams and Lee Duggan.
They took the new workshop format to a school for the first ever time, at Bethesda, and said the response from pupils was ‘extremely encouraging.’
Lee said: “Anyone can end up homeless through different circumstances, family disputes, relationship break-ups, job losses, financial difficulties, leading to serious practical and emotional hardships.
“In many cases homelessness is ‘hidden.’ Desperate people sofa surf between friends looking for a place to stay overnight or for a few days or weeks. This is homelessness at its least visible.”
Lee said: “The reason for going into schools and other community youth groups is to inform and educate young people, to make them aware of people and agencies who can help should they ever find themselves in difficulty.
“We want a safety net to catch vulnerable young people before they slip into homelessness.”
Bethan added: “We’re not trying to frighten youngsters, it’s all run in an interactive, positive way. Clearly not every teenager or young adult will personally experience homelessness but they might know someone on the brink.
“The goal is to increase awareness, educate people in a safe environment about resources available in this sort of situation, and to familiarise them with systems in place to help them or their friends.”
Mum-of-three Lee, whose first poetry book Reference Points was published in 2017, got back on track though the education system.
She worked hard to get into university, leading to a new start.
She said her personal experience made her all too aware of the need to educate young people and the wider community about the root causes of homelessness and its devastating effects.
In the last five years GISDA, based in Caernarfon and Blaenau Ffestiniog, has worked with more than 2,000 young people, helping them with accommodation, financial issues, mental health support, and life skills.